Poner is an irregular -er verb in Spanish — the forms that break the pattern are explained in the grammar notes below.
Practice poner free →Poner means 'to put' or 'to place', and it is one of the irregular verbs you simply have to know. Its yo form is pongo, the preterite is irregular (puse, puso), and the past participle is the irregular puesto. Beyond the literal meaning, poner appears in countless expressions, and reflexively ponerse means 'to put on' clothing or 'to become' (se puso triste, he became sad). That reflexive use is especially handy for describing changes of mood. Its irregular preterite is frequently tested, so puse and puso are worth memorising.
Quick facts
Poner (to put / place) is an irregular -er verb.
Real sentences across different tenses — the kind of thing you'd actually say or write.
Pongo los libros en la mesa (I put the books on the table).
Poner la mesa (to lay the table); turning something on.
Ponerse + adjective: se puso nervioso (he got nervous).
Ponerse + clothing: me pongo el abrigo (I put on my coat).
Fixed expressions worth knowing — they come up in listening, reading and writing tasks.
Idiomatic expressions
The preterite is puse, pusiste, puso — not *poní. The past participle is puesto: he puesto = I have put. Ponerse + adjective means to become: se puso nervioso = he got nervous.
Only the yo form is irregular. All other forms follow regular -er endings on the stem pon-.
Completely irregular stem: pus-. Apply standard preterite -er endings.
Irregular future stem: pondr-. Apply the regular future endings to pondr-.
Uses the same irregular stem as the future: pondr-.
Irregular past participle — it does not end in -ido.
Irregular past participle — same as in the present perfect.
Irregular tú imperative: pon (not pone). Other forms: ponga, pongamos, poned, pongan.
Uses the irregular future stem pondr-: habré puesto. Note the irregular participle puesto.
Type conjugations from memory and get instant feedback. That's how you actually build the automatic recall the exam needs — not from reading tables.
Practice poner now →Three questions, no account needed. Type the form, then press Enter or tap Check.
yo: pongo, tú: pones, él: pone, nosotros: ponemos, vosotros: ponéis, ellos: ponen
Poner is irregular. The tenses with irregular forms are: Presente, Pretérito Indefinido, Futuro, Condicional, Pretérito Perfecto, Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto, Imperativo, Futuro Compuesto.
The past participle is puesto (he puesto) and the gerund is poniendo (estoy poniendo).
Verbs that are easy to confuse with poner or that behave like it.
Poner is on the AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas GCSE Spanish vocabulary lists. Compare the exam boards.
Written by Daniel Holmes for GCSE & A-Level Spanish students.